Out in the open
by Tut-tut-lady-luck
Summary: Chat Noir and Ladybug have been doing their job for years now. Chat has gotten lazy with finding hiding spots to transform. What will Marinette do when she sees him transform? Reveal theory
1. Chapter 1-Be careful!

**Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the show, I just own the plot. If there is a problem then please message me and I will try to have it fixed ASAP**

 **Also: I am an American, and I don't know much about French schools or really about French people in general. The school system is Americanized and I'm sorry if that bothers you, but I am not educated in their lifestyle.**

 **Also also: I am a student in high school, so that means homework. I don't know how often I will be able to post, I am thinking once a week, but life gets crazy, so I don't know. I'll try to be consistent though.**

"Chat! I need a distraction!" Ladybug shouted at he partner.

The akuma known as Medusia was almost exactly the same as the Greek Medusa. If you made eye contact with her you turned to stone. This made it incredibly difficult for the two teen heroes to fight her.

"I gotcha M'Lady" he replied as he turned with his eyes closed towards the sound of the akuma. Thanks to his super cat hearing he knew exactly where she was. "Hey snake face, you must be pretty ugly, isn't that the point of Medusa?"

Medusia hissed. "Chat Noir! I am going to get you!"

Chat rolled his eyes without opening them. "Mew have no idea how many times I have heard someone say that, it's hiss-teracle" he said without even thinking about the puns.

In the background, he heard Ladybug shout "LUCKY CHARM! *pause* Duct tape? What am I supposed to do with this?" She looked around and saw sunglasses turn red and black with her 'lucky vision'. "Of course!" she said to herself and went for the glasses.

Chat was dodging the clawed fingers of Medusia when Ladybug shouted "Chat duck!" Chat dropped to the ground to see ladybug swing down and land on Medusia. Medusia struggled but ladybug managed to slam the sunglasses onto the akuma's face while avoiding the snakes. She then duct taped them on so Medusia couldn't take them off. "You can look now Chat, her magic doesn't work through the glasses. Ladybug tied Meducia up with her yo-yo. "Now we can actually look for the akuma." They hadn't been able too or else they might have been turned into stone.

"Try her bracelet," Chat suggests.

Ladybug rips the bracelet, and an akuma flies out of the broken string.

"No more evil doing for you, little akuma," Ladybug says as she opens her yo-yo. "Time to de-evilize!" she catches the akuma. "Gotcha!" she says as she taps her yo-yo and releases the butterfly. "Bye-bye little butterfly," she says with a small wave. Then she grabs the duck tape. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG" she shouts as she throws it into the sky. The red streams of her power fly all around Paris, reversing any damage that Medusia caused.

"Pound it," both super heros say as they bump fists.

Medusia groans. She turns into a girl with frizzy dreadlocks and a very bony face. She opened her eyes and looked at the superhero. She had grey eyes that made her look angry. "Ladybug? Chat Noir? Wait! Was I akumatized?" she looked down. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Ladybug and Chat were used to this. They sat down next to her.

"It's fine," said Ladybug, "Everyone has negative emotions. Will you tell us what happened?"

The girl sighed and looked down for a moment. "I-It was just a bully. She is always calling me 'Medusa' because of my eyes. I hate it. But we used to be friends, so I don't say anything."

The duo had heard this kind of story from many akumatized victims. Ladybug was about to say something when her earrings beeped.

"I need to go, Chat, can you uh, help her out?" asked Ladybug. When Chat nodded she threw her yo-yo and left. Chat proceeded to talk to the girl, being sincere and trying to help her with her bully situation. At last, it was time for him to go too.

"Just talk to her," he said standing up. "It will be ok, you will see."

The girl nodded. "Thank you Chat Noir, this means so much to me," she said softly.

"You are welcome, have a purrfect day," he responded and _cat_ apulted off. When he was a good distance away from her he looked around lazily. Nobody was in sight. "Claws in," he said.

"Kid! I told you not to transform out in the open like this!" Plagg complained.

"It's fine Plagg, nobody saw me," Adrien sighed. He had had this conversation with his Kwami many times. He knew that he had gotten pretty lazy with finding hiding spots, but he had been doing this crime-fighting thing for more than two years and it was so tiring finding a perfect hiding spot. Plagg was constantly telling him that this was no excuse, but Adrien would just wave it off and distract him with cheese.

He didn't have cheese right now.

"Someone is going to see you eventually, you keep getting more careless. Imagine the consequences if someone saw you!"

"Nobody is going to see me Plagg, I always make sure nobody is around."

"What about cameras? And what if you didn't see someone in a window? What if-"

"Plagg! It's fine!"

Plagg pointed at a hotel they were currently walking by. "Chloe lives there. How would she react if she saw you?"

Adrien scowled. "Ugh, she would be a nightmare. She wouldn't leave me alone."

Plagg crossed his arms. "And what if Ladybug saw you?"  
Adrien blushed a little bit. "She probably wouldn't like that," he said with a sigh.

"I can't control you, Adrien," Plagg said softly. "But if you aren't careful, then I might be forced away from you. I don't want that."

Adrien was shocked. "Wait, if someone sees me then I can't be Chat Noir?"

Plagg shook his head. "If the world finds out, imagine what Hawkmoth would do. Your miraculous would be easy to get ahold of."

Adrien was silent. He hadn't considered this. Well, he had, but he hadn't cared about it much back then. Now Plagg was being sincere, which happened almost never. Plagg was worried they were going to get separated.

"Don't worry Plagg," Adrien said finally. "I won't let that happen. I'll be more careful, okay?"

Plagg nodded and settled on his head. "Now can I have some-"

"Camembert?" Adrien finished for him. "Sure, Plagg." He tossed it into the air and Plagg caught it.

Adrien started his walk home. He had transformed a good ten minutes away from his house, which was annoying.

About ten minutes later, Adrien approached the gate. He walked around the mansion to the side where his room was and transformed. He vaulted into his room as quietly as he could and transformed back.

"Maybe I can finally get my math done" he grumbled. Medusia had interrupted his homework, and he was not happy about it.

After a few minutes of work, there was a knock at his door. Natalie entered. "I have tomorrow's schedule for you Adrien," she said. Then she paused when she saw that he was doing homework. "Are you still doing math? It has been 2 hours."

Adrien cringed. "It's a-uh- big assignment."

"May I see it?"

Adrien handed it to her. She looked at it to see that only two of the ten problems were completed. "You have been wasting time Adrien," she said sternly.

Adrien shook his head. "No, I just took a break from math. I have other homework that I completed." He hated lying, but it had to be done.

Natalie handed back the page. "I expect you to stay on task. What would your father say if he saw the amount of progress you were making?"

"I'm sorry Natalie, I'll do better, I promise."

Natalie nodded and left without a word.

Adrien did the rest of his homework as fast as he could. When he was done he sighed and walked over to sit on his bed. "Plagg, do you think we will ever catch Hawkmoth?"

Plagg tried to swallow his overly large mouthful of cheese. It took a moment, but he choked it down. "I think so kid, why?"

"It's been 2 years Plagg, me and Ladybug don't have a single lead on who he is."

Plagg grimaced. He wanted to tell his chosen that he had sensed Nooroo years ago more than anything. But he couldn't, magic prevented him. A quami couldn't reveal other miraculous users no matter what, it was an ancient law. And even if he could, he would hate to see the look of pain on his boy's face.

"You used to have some leads," he said

"Yeah, but then they got akumatized. Hawkmoth wouldn't akumatize himself."

Plagg smacked his face with his small paw, but Adrien didn't notice. Adrien checked his phone. "I'm going to go early to patrol, I need to run. Clear my mind." he mumbled to nobody in particular.

Standing up, Adrien shouted "PLAGG CLAWS OUT!" and felt the familiar rush through his body. Once his suit was on, he took his staff and launched out the window.

He was running hard. He loved running and launching from rooftop to rooftop. After a few minutes, he heard Ladybug's yo-yo and turned to see his partner swinging towards him.

"You're out early Chat," she said as she caught up.

Chat smiled. "Glad to see you Bugaboo."

Ladybug rolled her eyes at the nickname, but she smiled too. "Something on your mind?" she asked.

"Only you M'lady." he said, slowing down.

Ladybug laughed. "If you say so kitty."

They came to a stop on a building near the Eiffel tower. Some people waved at them, and they waved back. Some people took pictures or videos.

"No matter how long it's been, people still idolize us," Ladybug said thoughtfully, "You would think that people would get used to having us around.

Chat chuckled, knowing full well that this was not the case. Being famous himself, he knew that people never got tired of idolizing people they didn't know. "It must be because we are the purrfect superheroes, M'lady."

Ladybug rolled her eyes at the puns. "Come on, let's keep going."

They ran around the city, but they didn't find anything out of the ordinary. All too soon, it was time for them to leave.

"I'm going to stay a little later, I like the fresh air." Chat said.

Ladybug smiled. "OK, if that's what you want Chaton."

Chat smiled. "See you at the next akuma then?"

Ladybug nodded. "Bye Chat." and she tossed her yo-yo and she was gone.

 **There ya go my friends! Thank you so much for any support, and please please please review! It helps a lot! This is actually my first fanfict tbh, I hope you guys like it!**

 **Peace from Idaho**

 **-TTLL (Tut Tut Lady Luck)**


	2. Chapter 2-Spotted

**Hey my friends! Glad you decided to stick with this fanfict :) Hope you guys like this new one**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous**

"Are you OK Marinette?" asked Tikki

"No!" cried Mari as she ran around her room grabbing supplies. "I totally forgot!"

"Forgot what?"

"I forgot to make Alya's dress!" Marinette stumbled and fell, her fabrics going everywhere. She groaned.

"Calm down Marinette, take a deep breath and tell me what happened."

Mari took a deep breath. "Alya asked me a month ago to make her a dress for her date with Nino, and I totally forgot about it! She just texted and asked if I was done with it."

Tikki held back a giggle. She found it very funny how Marinette would overreact. "It's going to be OK Marinette, you'll see. When is the date?"

"Tomorrow," groaned Marinette.

"What's so special about this date that she needs a new dress?" asked Tikki.

"Something about her dress getting stained when her sisters snooped in her room. And she loves the dresses I make so she asked me."

"Well, then we better get started. Just slow down or else you won't get anything done." Tikki advised.

Marinette looked at the clock. 7:34, great. She was going to be up most of the night.

She took her fabrics and rulers and tools and went to her balcony. She always liked cutting fabric out there, the fresh air helped her focus.

She got to work, cutting and measuring. Thankfully she had Alya's measurements memorized, or it would have taken a lot longer. Tikki, being the absolute angel that she was, helped out however she could.

? ﾟﾐﾞ? ﾟﾐﾞ? ﾟﾐﾞ? ﾟﾐﾞ? ﾟﾐﾞ? ﾟﾐﾞ?

She was almost done cutting fabric when she heard something on the street below. She checked over the balcony and saw Chat Noir looking around. He didn't see her. She was about to call out to him when he said something that she didn't hear. There was a flash of green, and his black outfit melted away.

Marinette froze. She couldn't move from shock. She watched frozen as Adrien walked off into the distance towards his house, never noticing the bluenette watching him.

"Marinette?" Tikki called from in her room. "Which sample fabric did you want again?"

Marinette didn't move, her mouth open and her brain shutting down.

"Marinette?" Tikki called again when she didn't respond. After a moment the quami flew up. "Marinette what's wrong?"

"I uh" gulped Marinette when she finally got her voice to work. "Just saw Chat transform."

Tikki froze. She, of course, knew it was Adrien. Now she had to prepare for the total freakout from her chosen. "Um, who is he?" she asked timidly.

"Tikki," she gulped. "It's Adrien. TIKKI IT'S ADRIEN HE'S CHAT NOIR! OH MY-"

"Quiet Mari!" gasped Tikki. "If someone hears you then his identity might be known!"

"B-but Tikki! How can it be Adrien? They don't even…" She trailed off, realizing how similar the two really were.

"It's okay Marinette, why don't you come inside and sit down." said the quami.

Marinette moved in a haze. After a couple of minutes of her stammering to Tikki, she finally calmed down.

Well, not really.

"How can he be Chat?" she asked for probably the millionth time. "Adrien is quiet and cute and perfect, and Chat is bold and flirty and-" she stopped as a realization hit her like a brick wall.

"T-Tikki, Adrien h-has a crush on me," she whispered in shock.

Tikki giggled at her chosen. "That's great Marinette."

Marinette shook her head. "No, he-" she was interrupted by her phone ringing. Alya was calling. Marinette answered automatically.

"Mari, I need to know the color of the dress so Nino can match," Alya said. Alya loved making Nino match her when they dressed up for an occasion.

"Oh, um, the color? It's um…" she forced herself to focus. "It's blue?"

Alya paused. "Girl, have you even started on it?"

"I, um, yeah, just still working on it."

"What have you done on it?"

"Oh, um, okay see I totally forgot but don't worry it will be ready by tomorrow I promise."

Alya groaned. "Girl, why didn't you just tell me? I'm fine buying a dress or something. I can use an old one, it's no big deal."

Marinette looked down, ashamed. "Are you sure? I feel terrible."

"Chillax girl, if anyone knows about your clumsiness it's me." Alya chuckled.

"Okay Alya, if you're sure," Marinette said as she moved over to her computer. She had an essay she wanted to start early, even though it wasn't going to be due for a few weeks. When the computer turned on revealing Adrien's face covered in hearts she yelped and dropped her phone.

"Mari! What just happened? Are you okay?" Alya asked, concerned.

Marinette picked up the phone. "I-I'm fine Alya. I j-just-um, well I uh tripped! Yeah, I tripped." she stuttered. Wow, she was a terrible liar.

"Okay then. Hey, I need to go, I'll call you later girl."

"Bye Alya," Marinette said softly as she hung up. She groaned and collapsed into her chair. "Tikki, I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing," she said.

"Maybe you should go talk to him," suggested Tikki. "Now that you know, you could even show him."

Marinette stiffened at the thought. "No! I mean, I don't know, I feel like that is too sudden."

Tikki frowned. Marinette was one of the most secretive ladybugs up to date. Some of her ladybugs told the cat holders immediately, some waited a while. But 2 years? That was a long time. "Why don't you want to tell him?" Tikki asked.

Marinette winced at the question. "I don't know, it just doesn't feel right. It is-was simple before either of us knew. Now I doubt I will be able to look at him the same way knowing who's under the mask. I don't want Marinette to taint his opinion of Ladybug."

Tikki frowned. She had heard this one before with one of her holders that waited about a year and a half before revealing herself. Tikki knew what to say though.

"Marinette, You are an amazing ladybug. You don't need a mask to prove it."

Marinette giggled, "Thanks Tikki."

Tikki smiled in return. "So what are you going to do?

Marinette sighed. "I...I don't know."

"At least talk to him," Tikki said.

"Yeah, good idea. Tikki SPOTS ON!"

? ﾟﾐﾞ? ﾟﾐﾞ? ﾟﾐﾞ? ﾟﾐﾞ? ﾟﾐﾞ? ﾟﾐﾞ?

Adrien looked up from his book when he heard a tapping on his window. He stood up and looked, surprised to see Ladybug looking through. "Plagg hide!" he hissed through his teeth, before unlatching one of the windows and letting her in. "Ladybug? Is something wrong?" he asked.

Ladybug jumped through. She nodded slowly. "I-yes Ch-Adrien. Something is wrong."

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"I-I don't really know how to say this, so I'll just say it. I saw you transform today," she said as fast as she could.

Adrien's jaw fell. "I-um, oh…" was all he could say.

"It was an accident, I was outside and I saw you, and you just transformed in front of me! You should have been more careful, though you were in an alley. But I didn't mean to!" Ladybug rambled.

Adrien grabbed her gloved hands. "It's fine M'lady, it's about time we both knew."

Ladybug winced. "I-um, about that. I don't think I should reveal myself Chat."

Adrien frowned. "Why?"

Ladybug winced at the question. "I can't- it's um, well" she stuttered.

Adrien looked down. "You don't trust me?" he asked quietly, trying not to let Ladybug see the pain in his eyes.

"NO! It's not that Chat, um Adrien, I promise. It's just, I feel like you'll be disappointed." The last part came out as a whisper.

"You think I'll be disappointed?" Adrien repeated in confusion.

"Yeah," sighed Ladybug, "You love Ladybug, but I'm nothing like Ladybug under the mask."

Adrien shook his head. "No, I would not be disappointed bugaboo. I don't expect you to be the exact same, I always knew you would act differently under the mask."

Ladybug sighed and sat down on the ground, her back to the window. Adrien came and sat next to her.

"Maybe we can make this a challenge for me," Adrien said after a few moments of thoughtful silence. "I could prove that I love both sides of you."

Ladybug thought about it and smiled. "I like that idea, that's perfect Adrien!" she said happily, "How about you find me? I know you, so I could act more like Ladybug around you. If you can figure out who I am, then the problem is solved!"

Adrien smiled and nodded, but inwardly he groaned. This was the type of complicated plan he knew his lady liked. But he would do anything for his bugaboo, so he was going to do whatever it took to find his Lady.

"Care to give me any hints M'ladybug?" Adrien purred with a Chat-like smile.

"We know each other, that's all I will tell you."

Adrien smiled. "I'll find you, M'lady, I purromise."

Ladybug smiled back, "I-"

There was a knock at the door.

"Go, M'lady! We can talk later!" Adrien hissed quietly.

Ladybug nodded and jumped out of the window. The last thing she heard as she left was Natalie telling Adrien about his schedule.

 **You guys are so awesome! I seriously love all of you :D THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all the favorites, follows, reviews, and for just reading it! Every time I got a notification saying I got a follow, it made my day! So please please please continue doing it! Especially reviews, every single one is sooooo awesome!**

 **K I'm done talking, I hope you liked it and the next one should be up in a week**

 **Peace from Idaho**

 **-TTLL**


	3. Chapter 3-Expectations

**So apparently the emoji thing didn't quite work out last time, sorry about that guys. I'll not use those in the future. I don't really understand this website so I'm going to leave it as it is though.**

 **Also, I need a profile picture. If anyone who has artistic skills is willing to help, I would be eternally grateful! I would give you credit as well.**

 **I don't know if I have to do this for every chapter but I'm gonna do it just to be safe. Disclaimer, I don't own this show.**

 **Be prepared for oblivious Adrien ;p**

Adrien laid on his bed, trying to process this. Ladybug knew who he was, she knew him personally.

"Plagg," he said after a moment, "She knows me."

Plagg scoffed, "I don't really care kid."

Adrien frowned at Plagg's stern tone. "What's with you?" he asked.

Plagg tisked and flew to the other side of the room, "I'm not in the mood kid."

Adrien sat up and sighed. "You're upset because I didn't listen to you and now Ladybug saw me, aren't you?"

Plagg said nothing, he just floated near the wall, pouting.

"I'm sorry Plagg, I know it was dangerous. But I think it's past time we revealed ourselves, don't you agree?"

"Not necessarily. I, for one, thought it was perfectly fine when you didn't know." Plagg huffed.

"Well it was okay, but this is a lot better!" protested Adrien.

"Sure kid, whatever you say. Now can I have some Camembert? I'm starving over here."

Adrien chuckled and got to his feet. After a quick stretch he walked over to his mini-fridge to grab Plagg's treat. "You should try something new for a change. I got some gouda that is pretty stinky, want to give it a try?"

"Nope," Plagg said as he zipped over, "Camembert is all I need."

Adrien sighed at his stubborn quami. He pulled out a large slice and tossed it. "Don't eat it too fast, I don't want you to get sick."

"Impossible, I couldn't get sick from something so good." protested Plagg, now in a significantly better mood.

Adrien chuckled and sat at his desk. He started thinking about Ladybug again. "Who do you think she is Plagg? I have to find her, how am I supposed to find her?"

Plagg sighed long and loud. "I can't help you with these matters lover boy." he said annoyed that his cheese time was interrupted by Adrien's love crisis.

"I wonder if she is in my class," Adrien said, ignoring Plagg's comment, "She said she knows me, does that mean she knows me super well or does that mean she sees me around?" He groaned in frustration. "How on earth do I find her if I just see her around sometimes? What if I never find her? I can't disappoint her like that Plagg, I can't-"

"OKAY! That is enough! I can't focus on my cheese with you yapping like this nonstop! Just calm down and try to find out who she is or work on homework or something!" Plagg shouted in frustration.

Adrien rolled his eyes at the quami, but he didn't say anything. He knew from experience that arguing with Plagg during 'cheese time'. It typically ended with Adrien covered in scratches from Plagg's claws and Plagg banned from camembert for a week.

Adrien walked over to his desk and got a piece of paper. He didn't remember all of the akumas because it was over a year ago, but he was going to try to make a list. Specifically of the people his age

Stoneheart-Either Kim or Ivan

Bubbler- Nino

Copy Cat- The sculptor Name?

Lady Wifi- Alya

Time Breaker- Alex

Evillistrator- Nathanial

Dark Cupid- Either Kim or Ivan

Horrificator- Mylen or Rose?

Kung Food- Marinette's uncle, he remembered this one very well

The Gamer- Max

Animan-Person at the zoo

Antibug-Chloe

Puppeteer-Someone little kid Marinette knew

Reflekta-Juleka or Marinette?

Princess Fragrance-Mylen or Rose?

Volpina- Lila

The Collector- Gabriel

Despair bear- Someone at Chloe's party

Befana-Marinette's grandmother

Riposte-Kagami

Dark Owl-Mr Damocles

By the time Adrien was this far, his brain started hurting.

"Rrrrrgh! I can't remember the akumas Plagg! There has been so many over the years, how am I supposed to remember all this?" He said in frustration.

Plagg chuckled. "You should have written them down in a journal or something."

Adrien let out a long sigh. "I wish I would have thought of that! That would have made this so much easier!"

"So how are you going to figure out who she is?" Plagg asked between laughs.

Adrien sighed. "I don't know, I guess I'll just have to leave it to Ladybug."

The next morning Marinette woke up (however unwillingly) early to prepare her clues for Adrien. She was oddly excited for this challenge, which Tikki was quick to point out.

"I don't know," responded Marinette when Tikki asked her, "It's just gonna be interesting to see how long it takes him to figure it out!"

"And what will you do when he does figure it out?" asked Tikki.

"I don't know," Marinette said cheerfully. "But I think it will be fun!" When she said this, she started giggling uncontrollably.

"Marinette, how late did you stay up thinking?" Tikki asked nervously, knowing that her chosen often got very giggly and overly optimistic when she was tired.

"I think it was about 4:30," giggled Marinette.

"You stayed up until 4:30!" Tikki repeated, horrified.

Marinette nodded and walked to her closet. "I just couldn't get my mind off of Adrien being Chat. It's kinda funny." she said with a giggle. "I think I'll wear red today! That will give Chat a clear clue!"

"Marinette! You have to be careful! You aren't thinking straight!" Tikki said, distressed.

"Nonsense, I can do this! I was thinking of plans all night!" Marinette said, and a moment later she stepped out of her closet, wearing a red shirt, jeans, and some sneakers. "Let's go Tikki, this will be great!" Marinette said as she walked to the trap door.

"Marinette, aren't you forgetting something?" Tikki said before Marinette could get there.

"Oh, my phone!" Marinette shouted and grabbed it from her desk.

"Marinette, your backpack!" Tikki said.

"Ooooooh thanks Tikki! Now come on! Let's go!" Marinette giggled as she grabbed her bag and raced downstairs.

Tikki sighed, this was going to be a long day, she just knew it.

 **Hey guys! I know this one is shorter, but it's on time! It's been a veeeeeery busy week so it's been hard to write.**

 **Thanks for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! I don't have many reviews, so pleeeeeease review.**

 **So real quick about Adrien and his list, he isn't the best at remembering and that's why the list is all weird. Marinette has a list because she wrote in her diary tho.**

 **OK, I'm done talking. Love you guys! See you next week!**

 **Peace from Idaho**

 **-TTLL**


	4. Chapter 4-Conversations

**Hi friends! It's been super hard to get this one out so I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for all the support**

 **I just want to point something out real fast. The list from the last chapter was all from Adrien's memory. I know probably too well who was which akuma lol**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Miraculous**

 **Can someone tell me if I still have to say that? I don't want to get in trouble with anyone…**

Adrien's POV

Adrien's alarm woke him up suddenly. He opened his eyes slowly. It was a Monday, meaning he had fencing after school.

There was something exciting about today that he had been nervous about the day before. What was it? He started to review what happened yesterday. There had been an Akuma and then patrol. Ladybug came over… LADYBUG'S IDENTITY!

He rolled over so fast he fell off his bed, his blankets wrapped around him like a burrito.

"Well good morning to you too." grumbled Plagg, who was also stuck in the blankets. He phased out of it with ease. "What's got you so worked up?"

"Sorry Plagg," Adrien said as he struggled out of his sheets. "It's just-"

"Ladybug?" Plagg interrupted with an eye-roll. "Yeah kid, I know. You're excited to learn who she is."

Adrien didn't bother responding to that. He stood up and walked over to his bathroom. After a quick shower and a small breakfast, Adrien was out the door and in the car. He checked his phone, but he had no notifications. Adrien slumped in his seat. He was so nervous right now, he had to get ahold of himself. He wasn't even at school yet!

Marinette POV

Marinette skipped across the street, whistling _Miraculous_ by Clara Nightingale. She ran over what she was going to do today to give Adrien hints. She was super excited for this.

Alya was talking to Nino when she arrived.

"Hey, girl! You're here like 10 minutes early! Who are you and what did you do with Marinette?" Alya said with a smile.

Marinette giggled and said, "It's me Alya. Is Adrien here yet?"

Alya blinked in surprise. Yes, Marinette was obsessed with the model, but normally she didn't talk about it in front of Nino.

"He isn't here yet dudette, He should be here in about ten minutes or something," Nino said, unfazed.

"Nice! Hey, are you guys excited for your date later?" Marinette said without missing a beat.

"I'm pumped! It was so hard to get those reservations, but I'm glad I did!" Nino said happily.

"Yeah I bet it was hard-" Marinette started before she was interrupted by a certain blonde diva.

"Did you get that shirt from a garbage can?" Chloe said to Alya, as she was walking by. "You should maybe try putting some effort into what you wear nerd, that style is so last year." She laughed and strutted into school with Sabrina close behind.

Alya rolled her eyes, "Well someone hasn't changed."

"Who hasn't changed?" Adrien asked as he walked up behind Marinette. Marinette yelped in surprise, then she stumbled and fell. Adrien tried to grab her arm, but he slipped on one of the steps they were standing on and he fell on top of her.

"Aaah, oh I'm so sorry Marinette!" Adrien gasped. He stood up quickly and offered his hand to help her up.

"S-sorry Adrien!" she said nervously as she accepted his hand and he helped her up. She rubbed the back of her head where she had knocked it hard. "I didn't- I didn't mean to make you fall for me- I MEAN ON ME! Yeah I mean not that it would be such a bad thing- I mean what? Wait no-" _Pull yourself together Marinette, this is Adrien, who is Chat Noir. You can do this. Just imagine that you are ladybug and he is chat!_

Alya and Nino were doing poorly at holding in their laughs. Adrien chuckled at his classmate. "It's fine Mari, it was my fault."

"So Adrien," Alya said before Marinette could respond, a large smile on her face, "Did you finish the English paper?"

Adrien shook his head. "I was going to finish it last night but something came up. I will have to do it tonight, it's not due until tomorrow anyway."

Nino frowned. "But don't you have fencing? You are going to have a late night tonight dude."

Adrien winced. "I know. I am gonna have to work extra hard I guess."

Marinette frowned. They had patrol tonight, so Adrien was going to be up way past midnight if he hadn't started. "We could help you if you wanted, it's kinda a big project," she said.

Alya gave Marinette a surprised look at her forwardness, but then she shook her head. "I can't, I'll be babysitting my sisters."

Nino jumped a little, then looked at Alya in confusion. She gave him a meaningful look and he said "I-uh, can't either. I'm gonna be working on my speaker, it broke."

Marinette frowned. "Well, then _I_ can help you if you want. I won't be doing anything anyway."

Adrien paused, he rarely got to hang out with Marinette, and he knew that if he didn't accept her help then he would be up really late. "I can't ask you to do that-"

"Nonsense! I will totally help you, I don't want you to be up too late. You have responsibilities, you can't go around so sleep deprived." _Responsibilities like saving Paris you silly Kitty, you shouldn't procrastinate!_

"If you're sure, I could use a little help," Adrien admitted.

"OK, I'll text you later about when I'll come over. You can tell me when your fencing is over and I'll come over, deal?"

The bell rang.

"Sure Marinette, I don't have your phone number though."

"Why don't you write yours down and I'll text you." She got a pen and held out her arm so he could write it.

Adrien hesitated, but then nodded and wrote it down. The places where he touched her arm tingled as he took his hands away. "I don't know what I'd do without you Mari, thanks so much!" he said as they started to walk towards their class.

"Any time Adrien," she said with a smile. It was then when she realized that she realized that Alya and Nino had left them alone to talk. Oh, she was going to kill Alya!

...Wait no she wasn't, this was the perfect opportunity to give Adrien some hints.

Oh, wait Adrien was still talking, right.

"-with fencing. Once I'm done that you could come over, or you could wait, I don't have a preference. If you can't then you don't have too."

"I'll have to see how much I have to do. I might be busy if there is an Akuma tonight." Marinette said, waiting to see his reaction.

"Yeah, Akumas tend to make work hard," Adrien said, completely oblivious.

They arrived in the classroom.

"We'll talk later then," said Adrien, sitting at his desk.

"Sure Adrien," Marinette said as she went and sat next to Alya.

"Hey girl, you are super chill today! What's with you?"

"I don't really know Alya, I got only a few hours of sleep last night I guess, maybe that's it," Marinette said, grateful for the excuse.

"Sounds like you, I thought you were used to staying up late all the time like a crazy person," Alya said with a smile.

Marinette shrugged, then she turned her attention back to the teacher as she started the lesson.

Adrien looked around the classroom. He was trying to spot who was ladybug, but he hadn't had any luck so far. He couldn't figure it out! Nobody stood up as a total ladybug. He was hoping that he would see his lady wearing a red ladybug shirt or something. The only person wearing a ladybug themed shirt was Alix, who was definitely not Ladybug, she was much too short for that. Also, her pink hair was a dead giveaway.

The bell rang for lunch.

He gathered his stuff and went to the cafeteria with Nino. He continuously looked around to see if he could find his lady.

"Looking for someone?" Adrien jumped a little and turned around to see Marinette with a small smile on her lips.

"I-uh yeah you could say that," Adrien said.

"Who?"

"Just, someone who said she would meet me. I can't find her."

Alya frowned. "Who?" she said with a little bit more force than Marinette.

"Just… a girl I met online. I don't really know her real name. But she said she would find me and she hasn't yet."

Alya glanced at Marinette and was surprised to see that she was holding back a laugh.

"I wonder who she is." Marinette said, "Maybe you have already seen her."

"I don't know," Adrien said. "Maybe." They arrived at the cafeteria and parted ways.

"Girl spill! Are you that girl he was talking about?!"

 _Yes_ "No," she said

"Why are you so happy about that. He probably likes that girl!"

 _That's a good thing,_ "That's probably not true Alya, just because it's a girl doesn't mean he likes her."

Alya decided not to press the matter, but she still didn't like it.

After school Marinette went home immediately so she could get a nap before she went to Adrien's house. She felt SO TIRED right now, she felt like she had no more brain power from focusing all day.

She flopped on her bed and closed her eyes. "Wake me up in twenty minutes Tikki," she mumbled.

Tikki nodded and flew over to Marinette's desk.

Twenty minutes later Tikki woke Marinette up, as promised. Marinette felt a little bit better.

"I guess I should text Adrien now, huh?" Marinette said as she grabbed her phone. She didn't need to look at her arm, she already had given Chat her number about a half a year ago in case there was an emergency. At first, Chat had used it to try to get together, but after a few stern conversations, Chat learned only to use it if there was an Akuma or something actually important.

She opened her phone to chat and froze.

Wait…

That meant Chat had her phone number as Ladybug.

 **Hope you guys liked this one! I had a lot of fun making this one. I'm super excited for the next few!**

 **Thanks again for favoriting, following and reviewing! Love you guys sooo much! It makes me so happy with every review I get :DDDDD**

 **I know it's a day early, but I finished it and I think I would forget to do post it if I didn't do it now, I will normally not be posting on Sundays tho!**

 **OK, I'm done talking! Luv u guys**

 **Peace from Idaho**

 **-TTLL**


	5. Chapter 5-Hints

**Hey guys I'm ALIVE!**

 **If you didn't see my comment that I posted on here, I was gone for a loooong time because I was having a 10-day social media fast. I counted fanficts as social media so I didn't do it for a while.**

 **Thank you all for sticking with me!**

 **Disclaimer again: Miraculous is not mine, but the plot is.**

 **Also, I thought this would be important! Even though this takes place years in the future, All of this was written AFTER I SAW FROZER! Any details in future episodes won't be integrated into this!**

"What's wrong Marinette?" asked Tikki.

"I can't text Adrien Tikki! He already has my number put in as Ladybug!"

"Can you use someone else's phone?"

"No, not without an explanation as to why I can't call on my phone!"

Tikki frowned and thought about it. "Do you have a landline?" She asked, thinking about how her last chosen would communicate.

"A landline? No, I don't have a landline, nobody really has those anymore."

"Well, this definitely is a pickle Marinette but don't worry! We will figure this out!"

Marinette checked her phone again. "It's almost 5:00, I wonder if he is still at fencing." Marinette walked over to her chart and pulled it down. "Oh! It's about to end! So if I can hurry then I'll be able to talk to him! Quick, hide Tikki!"

Tikki flew into Marinette's purse. Marinette took off running down the flights of stairs and towards the school.

ADRIEN POV

Adrien hadn't been having the best day at fencing. His teacher had decided that they all needed to work on their endurance, so they had been doing sprints and cardio. Everyone was sore, tired, and very very grumpy.

When it turned to 5:00 Adrien was very relieved.

"If there is an Akuma attack I don't think I'll be much help to Ladybug," groaned Adrien, "That session left me beat."

"Or you could just skip if there is one, take a break for once!" Plagg said, "You and Ladybug both agreed that if you are doing something important then it's ok to not show up unless it's a particularly difficult one!"

"I'm not about to abuse that Plagg! It's only if it's something we can't get away from! Plus, I'm not doing anything important anyway." Adrien said, annoyed.

"Sleep is important," Plagg said dismissively.

Adrien shook his head but didn't respond. Maybe he was too wound up.

Adrien put his things into his bag, grabbed his phone, and sat down on the bench.

"That's weird, I thought Marinette was going to text me," he said, then he shrugged and stuffed it in his pocket.

"When she comes over can you have her bring a baguette? Camembert on sourdough is a delicacy!" Plagg asked dreamily.

"Probably not Plagg, maybe I'll buy you some soon though," Adrien chuckled.

Plagg made a face, but his response was cut off by the door opening. Marinette rushed in, ran into a locker and fell.

Adrien jumped up and rushed to help before Plagg could hide in his coat. Plagg floated for a second, unsure what to do. If he tried to go to the locker Marinette might notice. Maybe he could-

"Thank's Adrien, I'm fine. I just- WOW"  
Crap, Marinette must have seen him. Flying in plain sight.

Adrien looked at what Marinette was pointing and turned pale. "Oh, ummmm…" Adrien trailed off, having no idea what to say.

"What-um, what does that flying qua-thing, that flying thing, happen to be and who-uh what is it?" Marinette stuttered, then she smacked the side of her head.

"It's-uh, it's nothing?" Adrien said panicked.

"Oh come on Adrien, I am not nothing!" Plagg said automatically, then he covered his mouth. He didn't mean to say that! Usually, he didn't think about what he was going to say until after he said it.

"Plagg! Shut up!" Adrien said with a facepalm. "Well, uh, Marinette, this is Plagg… He is a quami," Adrien started nervously, fiddling with his shirt. He decided to tell the truth, he knew he could trust Marinette. But he didn't know how Ladybug would react. "Maybe it's best to show you."

Marinette looked confused, "Wait, show me what? You aren't about to- uh, I mean show me what?"

"Don't freak out, okay? PLAGG CLAWS OUT!" Adrien said.

MARINETTE POV

Marinette knew what a quami was, heck she had a quami in her purse right now! But she had not been prepared at all to see Chat Noir's flying in plain sight. It surprised her.

Once she was over her shock she realized that she needed to make sure she acted like she didn't know what a quami was, but her acting skills weren't super good. Thankfully Adrien didn't notice.

What she was _not_ prepared for was for Adrien to decide to transform right there in front of her!

So now Chat Noir stood in front of her. And she had to act like she didn't already know this.

"Hi princess," Chat said, his timid tone was not at all what she was used to.

What was she supposed to do?! Was she supposed to scream and run? Was she supposed to stay silent?

She needed to think. How had she reacted when she first found out?

"Princess? Are you okay?" Chat asked, his face turning into a look of concern.

Time to say something, she prayed that her improv skills didn't let her down now.

"Wow! You are Chat Noir! I had no idea! That is amazing!" Marinette hid a wince, she was terrible at improv! She sounded totally fake!

Chat looked confused at this totally fake reaction. "Why did you say that so weird?" he asked.

 _Think Marinette think!_

"Weird? Who's weird? Definitely not me! I didn't say it weird at-"

"Marinette! You can trust me okay? Did you already know?"

 _BRILLIANT!_

Marinette nodded slowly. "I did, only a few days ago. You transformed right next to my balcony, and I was outside and…" Marinette was feeling good about her story so far. It was all true of course, she just had to see if the cat would connect the dots.

"Oh, why didn't you tell me?" Chat asked, looking embarrassed.

"I did-I mean I tried but I wasn't sure how," Marinette said, trying to help him take a hint.

"Okay, at least I know now I guess. You won't tell Alya right? Or anyone for that matter!"

"No, I won't tell Alya, you're secret is safe with me. I keep a lot of secrets," she said. _Please don't be so oblivious Chat, please catch on!_

"You do?" Chat said, surprised.

"Well, one big one in particular. It's pretty similar to this actually," By now she was dropping almost all subtlety.

"Oh, do you know who Rena Rouge or Carapace is? That's cool, don't tell me though."

Marinette's heart dropped.

"Plagg, claws in!" Adrien shouted before she could respond. There was a flash of blinding green light. "So, why did you come over here?" he asked

Marinette couldn't think for a second. How on earth was he so oblivious?

"Um, I couldn't text you about science so I thought I would try to catch you before you left fencing," she said.

"Wait why couldn't you text?"

"Oh! Uhhh-" _Crap! She hadn't thought of an excuse for that!_ "It's just that, my charger died and I lost my phone! I mean, my phone died and I lost my charger! Yeah…" She pulled her shirt down over the phone peeking out of her back pocket.

"Oh, okay then," Adrien said. "Do you want to come over now or wait? I don't mind."

"Uh, I could run home and grab something, then meet you at your house."

"How do you plan to get there? Do you have a ride?" Adrien asked in concern.

Marinette frowned. "No, I can walk. I live just across the street, and it isn't that long of a walk to your house. It would only take 10 minutes if I ran."

Adrien shook his head. "Why don't you run home and grab your things, then come back. Then we can take you to my house, I don't mind waiting."

Marinette nodded. "Okay, that works for me! I will see you in a minute Adrien!" Marinette ran outside, paused to take a deep breath, then ran home. She threw her phone on the desk, grabbed her backpack and a few pencils and ran back to the school. Adrien was on the phone talking with his father.

"-for school father. I got behind so she offered to help me… No we won't… Yes father… Okay father, I'll talk to you at home." Adrien hung up.

"My father wants to talk to you before we get started, if that's okay with you," Adrien said.

 **Hey friends! Thanks for reading!**

 **I had a lot of fun with this chapter, oblivious Adrien is so fun XD**

 **If you guys have talent with art pleeeease help me and send me a pic of a drawing. YOU WILL GET CREDIT! I would be forever grateful!**

 **Also you would have to help me with figuring out how to set it because I have tried with some pictures but I can't figure out how to do it.**

 **Announcement: IM DOING A ONE SHOT! I'm so excited! It will be posted pretty quick after this one!  
Also, my spell check was going crazy for an unknown reason, so it wasn't helping me much. Just bear with my errors pleeeease, I did my best!**

 **OK, I think I covered everything! I'll stop talking. LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH**

 **Peace from Idaho**

 **-TTLL**


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